My Family and I are planing on taking the Ultimate Roller Coaster Vacation (in my mind anyway), covering eight parks in Eight days. But I need your help on the planing, right now this is what the trip will look like
Day One: Paramount's Carowinds
Day Two: Paramount's Kings Dominon
Day Three: Bush Gardens Williamsburg
Day Five: Hershey Park
Day Five: Haven't decied what to do yet either Kennywood or Six Flags Ohio
Day Six: Cedar Point
Day Seven: Paramount's Kings Island
Day Eight: Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom
Should I go to Kennywood or Six Flags Ohio?
This trip isn't until late June or early July, What are the lines like up there around that time?
Should I skip Hershey Park and go to both Kennywood and Six Flags Ohio?
And Does Paramount sell season passes like Six Flags, where they are good at all of the parks?
Please help me and I am taking my laptop and will keep ya'll posted day by day with trip reports from each park.
Well, I cannot help ya' much on where to go. My vote would be for Kennywood, or skipping Hershey to hit SFO. What I can tell you is that yes Paramount season passes work for all of their parks.
-------------
~Nick
I live in PA, and I've been to all of the parks in the area, and I prefer Hershey to Kennywood. I like the whole chocolate theming of Hershey and they have AWESOME rides there. Hershey has 3 woodies including the new racing,dueling woodie named Lightning Racer to open this may, a cool twister named Wildcat, and a classic out and back, named Comet. Hershey ALSO has 5 steel coasters the superdooperlooper, the trailblazer, a bommerang named sidewinder,a mad mouse, and my personal favorite the great bear an inverted which was built 3 years ago. On the other hand Kennywood has how many coasters? 5 i think? Hershey is considered the best amusement park in PA, so I'd go to Hershey and skip Kennywood!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MF opens in 42 days!!!
Whoa, that's a tough one. Any other year i'd tell you to skip GLP, but since it's not GLP anymore then it may be worth checking out over Kennywood. They are just putting in some spinning ride this season at Kennywood this season so SFO is a much bigger expansion.
On the other hand, if you have NEVER been to Kennywood then i might just have to tell you to stop there because there is no other example left in my mind of a better place to go for a traditional amusement trolley park.
Hershey on the other hand is also having a big coaster expansion with that lightning racer.
So if you want new coasters i'd say SFO and Hershey. If you want great parks i'd have to go with Kennywood and Hershey. But i don't think you would be dissapointed with any of the ones you chose.
Thanks for the help, but what are the lines like up there at that time. Should i take an extra day a Cedar Point or King's Island to accomadate the crowds?
*** This post was edited by MFBound on 4/2/2000. ***
I think you need two days at Cedar Po!nt.
Just thoight I'd chime in by saying that everybody is forgetting one of my favorite parks Knoebels http://www.knoebels.com/ (my other fav. parks are CP and IOA if you care and I'm sure you don't). If you are a fan of tradional parks, I would recommmend this above Hershey anyday. Some other factors to consdier are if you really want to ride Steel Phantom before it is removed go to KW. It might make it easier to skip SFKK becuase I would take Hershey, KW, SFO or Knoebles over it anyday.
Thats a great point. I had my first trip to Kennywood planned for 2001, but when I heard the news I decided to go this year and next year because they've gotta have something big coming. Also, you asked about staying another day at PKI, I suggest no. You can get on The Beast, OL: FOF, Vortex, Racer, and Top Gun in no time. Face/Off on the other hand..
-------------
~Nick
*** This post was edited by 2Pac Legacy on 4/2/2000. ***
Thanks for all your help and with putting up with my spelling.
I agree with the Kentucky Kingdom idea. I fthere was any one that i would take off it would be KK. I found it rather disappointing. The Sisters are good and so is the old Summers coaster (Thunder Run). But nothing you could live without.
I have heard nothing but good things about Knoebels, but it only has a few coasters (if that's the only thing you're looking for). I would stop there.
The later you wait to get to CP the worse the lines will be, from my experience. Tues wed or thur are the best days to go; and two days would not be wasted there. In fact if you want to do and see everything there is, you need two days.
It's tough to say how the SFO crowds will be, but in the old GLP Junes were almost always really light. Of course they sould be heavier, but i expect them to be reasonable. But the end of July and through Aug should be quite a sight for regular GLP attendiees (sp?). Record attendance is expected.
Kennywood is almost always reasonable with crowds. The worst day i've been there(and the worst for the season if you trust employees and regular guests opinions) is Labor Day. But even when the crowds are large the lines rarely approach an hour. More like 30 minutes tops.
My general opinion of PKI is poor (the park not the rides). Whenever i go there the lines are always worse than seems reasonable for that time of year. Maybe someone out the has more info.
I'm glad a few people stuck up for Hersheypark. I really like that place - if it's coasters you're after, they have as many good ones as just about anyone else - i.e. Comet, Great Bear, Wildcat, and the new Lightening Racer...
How much flexibility is there in your schedule? I agree with those that suggest you do Kennywood and Hershey, although Knoebels is supposed to be magic. And I've not been to SFKK, but haven't heard many good things about it. On our big coaster tour this year (14 parks in 21 days) we're gonna pass by SFKK - and skip PKI, perhaps our least favorite park - and head to Holiday World in Santa Claus, Indiana (a few hours west of Cinncinnati). It's not big, and doesn't have the number of coasters that those other parks have, but it is clean, pretty, with GREAT employees, absolutely NO theme park mentality, smaller crowds, and features one of the absolute best coasters in the world with the Raven, and have added an even larger CCI woodie this year with the Legend (a ride I'm looking forward to more than Millennium Force). And to top it all off, they do lots of little things - like, once you buy a soft drink, all your refills are free for the whole day.
So, you've got lots of options, and I'm sure more people will be posting their opinions in the days to come. But I'm sure you'll have a blast no matter what you decide.
-------------
Age and treachery will always overcome youth and skill.
i agree! i WISH i could take the time to what you're doing.
I think Knoebel's is nice, but I think that the Phoenix is the only good coaster there. I feel the whirlwind coaster was just purchased to say they have a steelie, and a looper. The twister this past year was DEFINATELY a waste of time and $$ in my opinion. Go to Hershey, then SFO, then CP for two days.
~~~~~~~~~
MF in only 40 days!!!!
I will just provide a dissenting position by saying that the Twister at Knoebles is probably the best wooden coaster that I have been on.
My goodness this makes things hard. I have heard nothing but bad things about PKI is it really that bad, I wanted to go there to experance the SOB and the Beast, but if i skip PKI and SFKK then i can hit two days at cedar point and both kenneywood and Hershey...hmmm, sorry Knobles looks really nice but i'm going to have to skip it this time. Thanks again folks for your help.
So maybe It should look like this:
Day 1: Carowinds
Day 2: PKD
Day 3: BGW
Day 4: Hershey
Day 5: Kennywood
Day 6: SFO
Day 7 and 8: Cedar Point
Then back home.
That cuts down on the park amounts... People who like PKI let me hear the good side of that park. Also for those who asked I am not just looking for roller coasters on this vacation (I have four other peole in my family who are coming along and they need to be happy to) so let me know about those small theme parks along the way that would be a nice experance, perhaps I could split a day between Cedar Point and that Holiday Land, whatever it is called.
*** This post was edited by MFBound on 4/3/2000. ***
*** This post was edited by MFBound on 4/3/2000. ***
*** This post was edited by MFBound on 4/3/2000. ***
*** This post was edited by MFBound on 4/6/2000. ***
You know, that looks like a pretty sweet trip. Two days at CP is never a bad idea. Holiday World would be out of the way with that schedule, but don't sweat it. Ya can't do everything ...
I don't mean to bash PKI. A bad day there is still better than a good day at work ... it's just that I'm not a fan of "theme" parks (IOA and BGW are the exceptions), and the theming at Paramount parks seems particularly cheesey (Hanna Barbara characters? Urghh). I used to like the Beast before they added about a million trim brakes (it's still alright) and the other coasters seem to simply have huge lines and not enough thrills. And I'm very suspicious of SOB (you know, NOT the world's first looping wooden coaster). They do have that Eiffel Tower thingy, however.
On a side note, when are you starting out? If'n it's in May, check the parks' schedules. Some aren't open during the week until after Memorial Day. We (the wife and I) head out May 10, and we're gonna have to do a lot of backtracking and weekend riding to get all our parks in.
-------------
Age and treachery will always overcome youth and skill.
I'd hit Hershey for sure. Knoebles is a great park my homepark and possibly favorite. With the Phoenix and possibly the best wooden coaster Twister you can't go wrong. But I'd say skip Knoebles to go to Kennywood and ride the Phantom instead since it will be gone after this year. If you or anyone in your family have earings you will need to pull them out to ride the Phantom. That was my biggest complaint about Kennywood.
-------------
I can't wait to ride Twister at Knoebles 4/29/00
My season has just begun!
Its amazing how many PKI bashers there are on CoasterBuzz and Guide to The Point. I will be honest, PKI doesnt compare to the way CP is run. But, the ride quality is pretty good, and you will be kept busy for a day. I will admit, I would take a great coaster over a good themed ride. But, my exception is OL: FOF, the theming makes the ride. There are a couple roller coasters at PKI that dont get the respect they deserve. The Racer and Top Gun are outstanding roller coasters, and SoB will only add to Top Gun. You've got one one helluva decision there MFBound. Good luck, although you cant really go wrong picking any of these parks. :)
-------------
~Nick
*** This post was edited by 2Pac Legacy on 4/4/2000. ***
Top Gun at PKI is everything that a suspended coaster should be. That is hands down my favorite ride there, with Outer Limits and Beast tying for second (yeah, you read that right).
-------------
Jeff
Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com